“The Viking Trail Caravan” will begin at Little Bras D’Or Cape Breton, Nova Scotia where we will board the Marine Atlantic Ferry from North Sydney to Channel-Port Au Basque to begin our journey across Newfoundland. During the early part of our adventure we will spend about 10 days exploring The Viking Trail on the Great Northern Peninsula and will visit the site where Leif Erikson established a Viking Community at L’Anse Aux Meadows about 1,000 years ago. Along the Great Northern Peninsula we expect to see wildlife such as Moose, and sites such as Icebergs, visit the remains of the shipwreck SS Ethie, and see the Arches Provincial Park in Portland Creek. Then we will head east to places such as Twillingate and Bonavista to see more Newfoundland wildlife such as Puffins in Elliston, Gannets in Cape St. Mary, and visit the coastal coves and the harbors all along the way. There are several dinner theaters planned, such as “The Viking Feast” in St. Anthony, the “Rising Tide Theater” in Trinity, and “The Spirit of Newfoundland Theater” at the Historic Masonic Temple in St. John’s. For the return trip from Newfoundland we will board the Marine Atlantic Ferry from Argentia for the overnight 14 hour cruise back to North Sydney, Nova Scotia. A cabin and dinner aboard the Ferry will be provided. The Kitty Fee includes all group dinners, cookouts, entertainment, activities, campsites, and all Ferry costs to and from Newfoundland.

Total Number of Nights: 42Number of Stops: 13Maximum RV Units/With Leader (in each section): 20/21

The Golf N Around Caravan will be in the State of Alabama starting April 20, 2015 and ending May 9, 2015, a total of nineteen days. This caravan will consist of five stops. We will start in the southern part of the state and work our way north. Each stop will include a golf day, tour day, golf day. The cost of the caravan will include camping and some meals but not golf. We will negotiate the best prices for the golf and set up tee times. Each party will be responsible for paying for their own green fees. The kitty fee and golf courses are to be determined. We will be limited to twenty five units including the leader. Each registration should be submitted with a two hundred and fifty dollar deposit.

Come vacation in the majestic Canadian Rockies, Alberta prairies, and British Columbia – the national playground of Canada. Traveling the back country there will be secluded dry camping, cookouts, and Indian lore. Over 100 glaciers line the spectacular Icefields Parkway where you will ride a snow coach at Athabasca Glacier, hike trails at Jasper National Park, dine at the Banff Springs Hotel, and tour Lake Louise, LakeMoraine, and Johnson CanyonFalls. Western heritage lives on at Bar U Ranch, Canadian Barn Dance, and Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump- all included in your itinerary. You will cruise the waterway, cross the border, and create memories in Waterton Lake Nat’l. Park and be aboard the Red Jammer buses in GlacierNational Park for a sunset photo opportunity. Taking the Crow’s Nest Pass will deliver you into British Columbia for rafting, biking, golfing, fishing, horseback riding, and bird watching. Your camera, your adventurous spirit and your love for laughter are a must for this caravan!

Vacation for 21 glorious days in the Rocky Mountains during autumn the most colorful season. The caravan begins with personalized guided tours of Yellowstone National Park and dining in the historic Old Faithful Lodge. In the Tetons we will raft the waterways, learn to fly fish where fat trout hide, picnic along the trails, and “shop the square” in Jackson. Along our breath taking scenic route, we will discover fragments of a long ago world where the largest land creatures of all time once roamed and died in Dinosaur National Monument. A train will whisk us through stands of golden aspens. We will spy deer, bear, and bighorn sheep and play through loitering elk on the golf course. We will arrive in Estes Park, Colorado in time to hear the bull elk’s throaty bugling echo across the mountains signaling that fall has officially arrived- the elk mating season. This will be an amazing time of year to vacation in the Rockies!

The 2014 Southwest Adventure Caravan will be in August, September and October capturing the awesome beauty of the fall landscapes. Beginning in Durango, we will visit the higher vistas first, before traveling on to lower altitudes hoping to escape early snows. Bring clothes for all climates! We will find what’s around the corner in this four-corners region of CO, UT, AZ, and NM, that tourists may not usually see visiting Indian pueblos, reservations and learning about their cultures from Native guides. The grandeur of the scenery will amaze us as we ride the train up the mountain to Silverton, CO, hike to the “Palace” in Mesa Verde, or bounce into Monument Valley (seen in car commercials and movies). Moab, UT offers gorgeous views in the surrounding National Parks and excitement with “slick-rock riding” in the ultimate jeep. Whether using a camera at Capitol Reef National Park or riding a mule into Bryce Canyon the parks will captivate us. After seeing the North Rim of the Grand Canyon we’ll spend a relaxing 5 days beside Lake Powell and enjoy a ½ day boat trip, a raft float trip and a tour through the unusual Antelope Canyon. Our final 2 weeks will take us to NM exploring Gallup, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe where we will be a part of the Hot Air Balloon Festival, we will trolley through town, we will savor local cuisine and we will visit Taos. America the Beautiful passes (formerly Golden Age Pass) will save you $ for fees in Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyon lands and North Rim Grand Canyon National Parks. Come prepared to have fun with your fellow caravaners and leaders!

The Lewis and Clark Trail Caravan is back by popular demand. This 45-day caravan will rendezvous at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers (where Lewis & Clark did). We will follow their route up the Missouri River, across mountain passes to the Snake and Columbia Rivers and on to Warrenton, OR (FortClatsop), the western terminus of their journey. The Corps of Discovery spent the very wet winter of 1805-1806 there. We, however, will enjoy seafood, and great weather on the Pacific Ocean in the comfort of our Airstreams.

Our route will take us from St. Louis across Missouri (Kansas City), up through Iowa (Council Bluffs), the Dakotas (Bismarck, Fort Mandan, Medora), across Montana (Great Falls, Helena, Three Forks, Bozeman), then drop down into Yellowstone National Park for a few days; cross into Idaho and over Lolo Pass to the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers where Lewis and Clark spent several days; we will enjoy a boat cruise up the Snake into Hells Canyon. Then on to the Columbia River and follow it down to the Pacific Ocean. Although Lewis and Clark didn’t actually get into Yellowstone National Parks, it’s too close (and good!) to pass up. So you will have the opportunity to explore and visit it and many other beautiful, interesting, and informative locations along the route.

Alaska is the last Frontier State. Nothing can fully describe the beauty of the Alaskan landscape. Visiting this beautiful State by RV is the best way to do it. Bobbie and I have traveled there twice with our RV and once with the Fly/Drive and there is no other way to see Alaska. So please fill out the coupon in the back of the Blue Beret and send it to us with your deposit of $500 before December 31, 2014.

This is important for those of you that would like to go on the Fly/Drive caravan.

You will need to sign up ASAP if you would like to make this caravan. First checks in first on the caravan. If I do not have the 20 RV people signed up by DEC-31-2014 the caravan will be canceled. The RV rental is TBA. I will not have a cost of the RV’s until later in the year. Last year it was $2800 for 15 days with unlimited miles. They are class “C” motor homes. They were 22’ with a queen bed in the rear so you did not have to climb up over the cab. 22’ RV’S are big enough for a 16 day trip and easy to get around. You won’t spend much time in them anyway. If you figure the cost to drive from your home to Anchorage with your RV, depending where you live can be costly with fuel around $4 a gal. This is a 16 day trip. We encourage you to come early or stay later to do more touring on your own.

Total Number of Nights: 15Number of Stops: 7Maximum RV Units W/Leaders: 20

Cancellation: $100.00 Before December 31, 2014. Leader’s discretion after 1-1-15

Come and Fly to Alaska, and then drive it with Jim & Bobbie Matkovich.

Rendezvous: Anchorage, AK

Seward, AK

Homer, AK

Palmer, AK

Wasilla, AK

Talkeetna, AK

Anchorage, AK

ALASKA THINGS TO ASK ABOUT:

What about housekeeping supplies and equipment?

With the purchase of our optional housekeeping package, just about everything you need is supplied; towels for bath and kitchen, sheets, blankets and pillows. The kitchen is stocked with pots, pans, utensils, glassware, flatware, serving and storage dishes, electric toaster and an automatic coffeemaker.

What if I need assistance?

You’re not alone out there. You may call a special toll-free number, 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for Roadside Assistance. We’ll help you solve the problem, or get you to someone who can.

This shorter caravan will explore 4 or 5 plantations of South Georgia and North Florida. We will attend Swamp Gravy, Georgia’s Official Folk-Life Play, dry camp at an old country store, have the chance to visit Andersonville and Plains, take a carriage ride through a beautiful Southern town, visit the Uncle Remus Museum, not to mention the opportunity to eat at a number of “Southern” establishments. Spring will be a colorful time to visit the area and enjoy the beauty of the South

The Nor’ By Nor ‘east National Caravan will rendezvous in Rhode Island and end in Cornwall, PEI, Canada. Visiting historical New England and Canada’s Maritime provinces and sampling lots of food specialties from the water off the coast is our intention.

We rendezvous in Ashaway, RI, nearby 3 seaside communities in Connecticut; Mystic Seaport, Groton and New London offer a look at the history of old and young maritime life. Just up the road, Newport, RI offers a view into how the very rich enjoyed their “cottages”.

Our second stop is America’s hometown & birthplace. Plymouth offers 400 years of history with the famous Plymouth Rock, Monument to the Forefathers, the Jenny Museum, Mayflower II and a community living in period conditions named Plimoth Plantation. Free time to tour Cape Cod on your own is available.

We will make a stop just north of Boston and commute by tour bus into this bustling capitol city where we’ll walk in the footsteps of Paul Revere, tour the Bunker Hill Monument, and visit the JFK Library. The shots heard around the world happened in Concord and Lexington; these towns are within driving distance from our campsites at Topsfield. A trip to Gloucester on a whale-watching boat winds up our visit to this area.

It is off to Searsport, ME where we’ll camp next to the Atlantic Ocean in a gorgeous small town setting steeped with ship-building history and a real Food Channel approved “Down East Lobster Bake” under the tent on the shores of Penobscot Bay. The Penobscot Narrows Bridge, Fort Knox and the Penobscot Marine Museum round out some of the fun we’ll have here.

Just up the road is Bar Harbor where we will experience how some of the residents live among the dozens of coves and islands that are surrounded by sailing and motor yachts. Our campground, although located in Trenton, is nearby lots of shopping where we can “re-stock” the Airstreams. Acadia National Park is a sightseeing, hiking and bike riding paradise; it is at your beckoned call.

We’ll cross into New Brunswick, Canada and cross the FDR Memorial Bridge to Campobello Island. It is here where the elite from the late 1800s to early 1900s spent their leisure time. A “Tea with Eleanor” is planned. We will stay at the Herring Cove Provincial Park.

As we progress along this craggy coastline of the Bay of Fundy, we will stop to see the world’s most exaggerated tides at the Hopewell Rocks. Views of the Bay of Fundy are best visible from the shoreline roads leading to Cape Enrage and the town of Alma.

Our caravan will cross to the eastern-most shore to Halifax, Nova Scotia which will be our home base as we tour to colorful Peggy’s Cove and historical Halifax. Wine country is just a short drive away where there are lots of opportunities for sampling, etc.

In Louisbourg, we have a campsite nearby the fish and crab docks just down the road from the Fort at Louisbourg. We will, of course, tour the largest reconstruction project of a fort in North America, along with a musical at the Louisbourg Playhouse and a dinner show at the Fortress.

A short drive to Baddeck on Cape Breton Island is our final stop in Nova Scotia. Here, will be our home base as we enjoy a drive around the magnificent coast on the Cabot Trail. There are many other places of outstanding beauty in this area and we’ll take the time to see it all.

Last and final stop is Prince Edward Island. But, once you’re on PEI, you will think you’re in Heaven. We have plenty of time here for exploring and enjoying the musical, Anne of Green Gables in Charlottetown, the warm waters along some of the most beautiful beaches as well as seafood-PEI style. We will have our Farewell Banquet in Charlottetown at the Delta Hotel.

There is ample opportunity to see many sights on your own. Free time is available so you can enjoy biking, fishing, hiking, etc.

Maximum RV Units/With Leader: 25Total Number of Nights: 41 Number of Stops: 11

START: CHEROKEE, NC STOP: STAUNTON, VA Come with us as we travel the Blue Ridge Parkway from end to end. It will be a 500 mile adventure as we explore the history of the area. Enjoy the scenery, listen to the mountain music, and soak up the beauty of this unique roadway and the surrounding area. The driving route Will cover the entire Parkway and our stops will allow us to experience things like Early American history, the biggest Private home in the U.S.A. some Civil War history, mountain crafts, and much, much more. A word of caution: The Blue Ridge Parkway is a winding 2 lane scenic road with a speed limit of 45 mph (you should drive slower than that to take maximum advantage of the scenery). It extends for about 500 miles through the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. The road goes up and down and around the mountains – often – and the elevation varies from 650 to 4900 ft. Our longest travel day will be about 140 miles. If you think this adventure is for you, your equipment should be in top shape.

Total Number of Nights: 19Number of Stops: 6Maximum RV Units W/Leaders: 20

Kitty Fee w/2: $2000 Kitty Fee w/1: $1400

Deposit: $250

Cancellation: $100 before January 4, 2015. Leader’s discretion after 1-4-15

We begin in McDavid, Florida where we will visit the Battleship Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, and the Naval Museum in Pensacola, Florida. We will start our travels by visiting the white sand beaches of Panama City Beach. Then travel the “Forgotten Coast” of Old Florida to Apalachicola and Carrabelle where we will camp just a few yards from the beach. We will see how oysters are harvested–plus eat a few– cruise scenic rivers; kayak & hike. We will take a walking tour of historic Apalachicola. You will see manatees in the wild and maybe an optional horseback ride on the beach. On we will go to Cedar Key for clams and eat the Two-Year-In-A-Row-International-Award-Winning- Champion Clam Chowder. When we get to Homosassa Springs/Tarpon Springs there will be more wildlife, great meals, sponge harvesting tour and some of the best shrimp ever. Moving on to Ft Myers Beach for the Edison/Ford Tour and a high speed catamaran boat trip to KEY WEST for the day. While in Key West you will be able to visit Hemingway’s favorite spot for beverage at Sloppy Joes. We will take a guided Conch Train tour of the island with some time left for you to explore the island on your own. We’ll move to Bonita Springs and explore Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary a gentle pristine wilderness that dates back more than 500 years. Here we will walk a 2.25 mile boardwalk meandering through pine Flatwoods, open prairie, and into the largest forest of ancient bald cypress in North America. Nearly 200 bird species are permanent or temporary residents and Corkscrew is world renowned for supporting the largest colony of nesting Woodstorks in the U.S. We will travel on to Everglades City and Chockoloskee seeing lots of alligators, a boat trip through the 10,000 islands, kayak the Everglades, eat stone crab. How about an airboat ride? Ok! You got it. There will be more boardwalks with incredible views and wildlife in Shark Valley. Of course our final banquet which will be followed by a sunset cruise to the 10,000 islands in Everglades National Park. We hope you will join us for this action packed caravan. How else could you see the Worlds’ Smallest Police Station and the world’s Smallest Post office in one trip; or get to the Southernmost point in the continental US and the southernmost point of paved road on the west coast of Florida?

This caravan is very active and has some long days away from your rig.

Limit 20 RVs

Approximate travel will be 27 days; 9 stops; 745 miles

Kitty fee: with 2 TBD with 1 TBD Guest: TBD

Due to vendor payment requirements, we must receive your $500 deposit no later than October, 2014Cancellation at Leader’s discretion.

On the Cajun Country Caravan you will experience Cajun culture and hospitality at its roots. Travel through the cypress swamps, rice fields and crawfish farms of south Louisiana. Dine on gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, boiled crawfish and fresh from the gulf, shrimp and oysters. Dance the Cajun two-step at world famous “Freds” in Mamou. Tap your feet and sway to the music while listening to the Saturday morning jam session at Savoy’s Music Store . Take a boat tour through cypress swamps, watch alligators and eagles in their natural habitat. Visit the oldest rice mill in the United States and the world famous Tabasco plant on Avery Island. Ride with a crawfish farmer as he runs his traps. Enjoy a bus ride to Baton Rouge for a tour of the Governor’s Mansion and the tallest State Capital building in the United States. Visit “Evangeline Oak” on the Bayou Teche, where in Longfellow’s poem, Evangeline waited for her Gabriel. Lot’s of fun, food and adventure packed into sixteen days of excitement awaits you on the Cajun Country Caravan.

Join us for a springtime caravan through East Texas. We will begin at one of the largest first Monday Markets. History enthusiasts will like Jefferson with their well-preserved buildings and the beautiful, Greek-revival homes including a ghost story or two. Visit Marshall Pottery Works which was saved by the coming of prohibition. Tyler’s Azalea & Spring Flower Trail travels through eight miles of residential gardens. A master Gardner will give us a tour of a nursery that ships rose bushes all over the world. Brookshire’s World of Wildlife animal museum is one of the best private collections of stuffed animals and the Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge is an international home to over 50 rescued big cats. At the American Freedom Museum, you will explore the Museum’s 15,000 square feet of galleries containing an amazing collection of over 600 artifacts and documents from American Revolution all the way to the sands of Iraq. The Gladewater Opry is a two hour country music stage show.The City of Carthage has the world famous Texas Country Music Hall of Fame where you will have a tour, lunch and some pure Texas entertainment. The East Texas Oil Museum is located on the campus of the College where you will also see the Kilgore Rangerette’s two hour Revel. Historic Nacogdoches is described as “the oldest town in Texas.” The city has been under more flags than the state of Texas, claiming nine instead of Texas’s six flags. We will also tour the Foretravel Motorcoach plant. Beaumont has the Fire Museum of Texas which is endorsed by the Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas as, “The Official Fire Museum of Texas. In the energy museum, you can explore the world of petroleum science from the formation of oil to the geology. Discover the beginnings of the Texas oil industry as historical characters share their adventures of the great Spindletop Gusher of 1901.

Cancellation Fee: $50, before May 1, 2015. Leaders discretion after May 1, 2015

Short caravan; perfect for your summer vacation! Rendezvous for this caravan is on Sunday, August 23, 2015 at Mackinaw City, MI. See the absolute best of the eastern end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in just 15 days and 5 stops. Last night of the caravan and the closing banquet will be on Sunday, September 6, 2015, at St. Ignace, MI. Travel home on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2015. Key activities/outings include: Ferry ride under the Mackinaw Bridge in route to a day on Mackinac Island, tours of lighthouses, a visit to Kitch-iti-kipi, a guided tour of Fayette Historic State Park, visits to numerous waterfalls, a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, tour of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, 6½ hour small gauge train ride (operating since 1927) and river boat tour up the Tahquamenon River to the Upper Falls, Soo Locks boat tour, the opportunity to walk across the Mackinaw Bridge, and much more.